How to take care of Swords - 3

Manual of How to handle and Take Care of
Swords

Manual of How to handle and Take Care of
Swords_2

Wiping Uchiko off

10. The reoiling with a piece of paper, or
destarched flannel, folded in size
3cm x
6cm and soaked in fresh oil completes
a round
of swordcare. When the paper is ready,
the
sword is to be drawn out of the scabbard
again. After placing it in the left
hand,
put the oiling paper on the back to
do the
same movement as described in the wiping
process.
To make sure the blade surface is throughly
covered with oil, repeat the same procedure
a few times. Just as the wiping, the
handling
of the sword as well as the oiling
paper
must be most carefully done. The paper
should
contain the right amount of oil so
that no
excess oil will overflow and harm the
scabbard.
The oil must be spread thinly and evenly.
11. It is a good idea to apply oil
to the
surface of the tang with one's fingers.
However,
an excessive amount of oil must be
avoided
here.
12. Put the collar back and encase
the blade
tentatively in the scabbard. Remove
the peg
from the hilt, draw the blade out of
the
scabbard, hold it in the right hand
in an
almost upright position,pick up the
hilt
with the other hand, and put the tang
back
in the hilt. Keep holding the blade
in the
hilt with the left hand and hit the
bottom
of the hilt lightly with the palm of
the
right hand so that the tang settles
firmly
in the hilt. When the tang is fixed
in its
perfect position, replace the peg.
Then, pass the blade to the right hand,
pick
up the scabbard and slide the blade
into
ot observing the manner described in
Section
2. Needless to say, the other parts
like
spacers and swordguards of fully mounted
swords must also be returned to theirrespective
places before the hilt is put on the
tang.
13. The method of handling and caring
for
other forms of blade such as spears8Yari)
and halberds(Naginata) are the same.
Spears
must be handled especially carefully,
othewise
injury may occur. Also the daggers
of double-edged
tye(ken) are very dangerous.
Swordcare tools must be kept perfectly
clean,
for dust stuck on the wiping cloth
or oiling
paper coould cause scratches on the
steel
surface. Protecting these surfaces
which
have been most finely polished through
the
grades processes involving more than
ten
kinds of whetstones of differernt fineness
and hardness is critical.

Fixing a tang in the hilt after oiling

4. How to preserve the Nipponto
The most important aspects of preserving
blades in any form are to protect them
from
developing rust and scratches.
The precautions requires for keeping
the
Nipponto in good condition are the
following:
1. Despite regular care and oiling,
a blade
may develop rust in places. Generally
when
rusting takes place where tje scabbard
touches
the blade, it must be taken to and
repaired
by Saya specialist. Or, when the scabbard
is very old, its interior may well
be contaminated
with rust and dirt, thus causing the
steel
to rust. In such case, a new scabbard
must
replace the old one at once.
2. Since the formal mounting functions
as
an outfit for dressing up, a blade
needs
to have a plain wooden scabbard and
hilt
which would be, as it were, casual
wear for
a blade. It is much preferred to rest
a blade
in its casual outfit so that when the
blade
surface starts to rust the wooden scabbard
can readily be cleaned inside by splitting
it open into vertical halves, which
are simply
fastened together with a paster made
from
cooked rice.
No chemical substances may be used
to fasten
the parts of the scabbard and hilt.
3. If a blade should start to rust,
no inexperienced
repairs such as rubbing the rust off
with
a spatula or coin's edge would improve
the
condition; rather it is likely to aggravate
it and necessitate extra work in smoothing
the damaged area. It must be taken
to a polishing
specialist at once just like a sick
person
would need to go to see a medical specialist.

Sliding a blade into the scabbard

4. Since a blade is particularly vulnerable
to rusting soon after polishing, cleaning
and oiling should be done preferably
every
ten days for about six monthes.
5. Later when the polished balde surface
condition is more stable, clean it
regularly,
at least every six monthes.
6. In preserving swords, it is improper
to
keep them in a leaning position because
it
would cause the oil to go down along
the
blade surface and make a pool at the
point.
It is necessary to keep them in a dry
place,
laid down. It would be ideal to keep
them
in drawers made of paulownia wood.
Use of
camhor balls or naphthaline to protect
the
chest from borers should be avoided.
It would
cause rust on the steel.
7. Although dry conditions are preferable
for swords, the wooden containers or
mountings
require due moisture. Therefore, the
place
for preserving swords must be very
carefully
selected.